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Chapter 27:- 27
Did she hear him correctly? Athena wondered as she stood within the private copse of trees, closer to her dean than she’d ever been – or wanted to be – before. Her dean. Standing this close, shouldn’t she be on a first-name basis with him now? Oh, lord, what was wrong with her? Even in the confines of her own mind, she had difficulty thinking of him in more personal times – even as she thought about him in some very personal situations.
No, no! Get that thought right out of your mind. He’s your boss, the dean of the college, very respectable. You can’t start thinking about him in that way. Stop imaging what he would look like without his shirt on – or even what he would look like in something less uptight. Like a simple, Simon Cowell-style tee shirt – No! Stop it. Think of him in a suit, think of him in a suit.
Maybe this would be easier to visualize if you just opened your eyes and looked at him, she silently chastised herself. Yes, keeping her eyes closed like this was only allowing her to better imagine him in nothing but a –
“What are you mumbling about?”
At the sound of Gabriel’s voice, so close, Athena opened her eyes with a pop – only to find that his face was just a breath away from hers. She tried to pull back but didn’t get far, as she came up hard against the tree at her back. The breath left her in a whoosh at the contact.
“Athena?”
Reeling in a gasping breath, she focused her attention upon him once again as she tried to remember the question he had posed. What did he ask?
“Are you all right?” Gabriel asked then, concern lacing his voice and etched into his handsome features. “You seem a little addled right now.”
“I feel a little addled,” she admitted when she finally found her voice again. “I – I – oh, lord, none of this makes any sense.”
She said the last more to herself than to him, but it was clear from his expression that he’d heard it. Concern rapidly segued into understanding as he cupped her face in a gentle embrace. Her eyes fluttered closed at the touch; she found herself turning into it, instinctively. It felt so good, so right, she thought. But why did it have to be with the wrong person?
“It’s all right, Athena,” he murmured, his voice like a gentle breeze caressing her face. “Don’t do this to yourself.”
“But…I can’t help but think this is all my fault.” She opened her eyes as she spoke to visually gauge his reaction to her words. “After all, it is my trunk.”
“Yes, well, I suspect that your grandmother forgot to tell you about some rather key features when she sent it to you.”
“You’re taking this a lot better than I thought you would.”
“There’s no sense in losing my mind or my temper over this now, is there?” he countered. “We should really figure out what is happening first.”
“I agree.”
“But not now, not here.” He shot a look over his shoulder at the sound of someone wandering close to their hiding place. “This isn’t the most favorable of circumstances. We must meet later. Tonight.”
“All right, but –“
Before she could complete that thought, Gabriel did the most astonishing thing to silence her.
He kissed her.
Did she hear him correctly? Athena wondered as she stood within the private copse of trees, closer to her dean than she’d ever been – or wanted to be – before. Her dean. Standing this close, shouldn’t she be on a first-name basis with him now? Oh, lord, what was wrong with her? Even in the confines of her own mind, she had difficulty thinking of him in more personal times – even as she thought about him in some very personal situations.
No, no! Get that thought right out of your mind. He’s your boss, the dean of the college, very respectable. You can’t start thinking about him in that way. Stop imaging what he would look like without his shirt on – or even what he would look like in something less uptight. Like a simple, Simon Cowell-style tee shirt – No! Stop it. Think of him in a suit, think of him in a suit.
Maybe this would be easier to visualize if you just opened your eyes and looked at him, she silently chastised herself. Yes, keeping her eyes closed like this was only allowing her to better imagine him in nothing but a –
“What are you mumbling about?”
At the sound of Gabriel’s voice, so close, Athena opened her eyes with a pop – only to find that his face was just a breath away from hers. She tried to pull back but didn’t get far, as she came up hard against the tree at her back. The breath left her in a whoosh at the contact.
“Athena?”
Reeling in a gasping breath, she focused her attention upon him once again as she tried to remember the question he had posed. What did he ask?
“Are you all right?” Gabriel asked then, concern lacing his voice and etched into his handsome features. “You seem a little addled right now.”
“I feel a little addled,” she admitted when she finally found her voice again. “I – I – oh, lord, none of this makes any sense.”
She said the last more to herself than to him, but it was clear from his expression that he’d heard it. Concern rapidly segued into understanding as he cupped her face in a gentle embrace. Her eyes fluttered closed at the touch; she found herself turning into it, instinctively. It felt so good, so right, she thought. But why did it have to be with the wrong person?
“It’s all right, Athena,” he murmured, his voice like a gentle breeze caressing her face. “Don’t do this to yourself.”
“But…I can’t help but think this is all my fault.” She opened her eyes as she spoke to visually gauge his reaction to her words. “After all, it is my trunk.”
“Yes, well, I suspect that your grandmother forgot to tell you about some rather key features when she sent it to you.”
“You’re taking this a lot better than I thought you would.”
“There’s no sense in losing my mind or my temper over this now, is there?” he countered. “We should really figure out what is happening first.”
“I agree.”
“But not now, not here.” He shot a look over his shoulder at the sound of someone wandering close to their hiding place. “This isn’t the most favorable of circumstances. We must meet later. Tonight.”
“All right, but –“
Before she could complete that thought, Gabriel did the most astonishing thing to silence her.
He kissed her.
